For a franchise that’s now gone 0 for 52 in attempts to participate in America’s largest sporting event, the Detroit Lions sure made their presence felt during Super Bowl LII.

This year’s Super Bowl was another classic, ending in Philadelphia’s 41-33 upset win over New England. Despite their obvious absence from the matchup, many of the game’s biggest story lines were either directly or indirectly influenced by the Detroit Lions.

This includes some key decision makers on the sidelines, personnel decisions, and the gutsiest play call of the 2017 season.

In Jim Schwartz and Matt Patricia, It was pretty interesting to see Detroit’s past and future head coaches squaring off as defensive coordinators in the Super Bowl. I know, I know, “no wonder there was about 6,000 yards of total offense then!”

Congratulations to Schwartz, who finally gets his ring. My guess is this is still only the #2 highlight of Schwartz’s career though. After all, he did beg his Bills players to carry him off the field after winning a regular season game at Ford Field in 2014.

Patricia will certainly be haunted by his defense’s no show performance on Sunday. This should leave him extra motivated to get the job done once he arrives in Detroit. The Lions play against the Pats at Ford Field next season. An upset win over his mentor Belichick would be a major jumpstart for Patricia’s head coaching...